Surfaces, such as wall surfaces, often are covered with a finishing material, such as paint, stain, or varnish. Often, there are adjacent surfaces onto which the finishing material is not applied. For example, in a typical interior room, the wall surfaces are painted while the trim, such as moldings and window frames, are stained, varnished, or painted a different color. When the wall surface or trim surface is refinished, the adjacent surface must be covered to prevent unwanted penetration or seepage thereon.
Finishing material that seeps or splashes onto the adjacent surface must be removed. This can be time consuming at best, and it can also potentially cause permanent discoloration or damage. Similar problems are encountered when finishing exterior surfaces of a building or any two adjacent surfaces in which each surface is covered with a different finishing material.
One of the primary problem areas for unwanted penetration is along the boundary between the two differently finished surfaces. This problem is typified by the application of paint along stained and vanished trim pieces. Conventional paint brushes and paint rollers make it difficult for the user to apply the paint proximate the trim without having the paint splash or seep onto the trim.
Masking tape often is applied along the boundary to prevent this unwanted flow of paint onto the trim molding. Alternatively, masking tape is applied to the wall surface to prevent unwanted flow of paint or vanish from the trim molding onto the wall surface during finishing of the trim. However, masking tape is often unable to provide a sufficient seal along the boundary line between adjacent surfaces. Even with the slightest texture, such as old paint, marring, or nicks, the masking tape fails to adequately fill voids caused by the textured surface. Thus, the finishing material seeps under the masking tape onto the adjacent surface.
It would be advantageous to provide a barrier material that could be precisely applied along the boundary line between adjacent surfaces to prevent unwanted flow of finishing material from one surface to the other even when the surfaces have a textured quality.